From 1965 to 2009, Omar Abdullah is the eighth chief minister

New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS) Omar Abdullah, who took his oath Monday to head the Jammu and Kashmir government, is the eighth chief minister of the state. Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq of the Congress was sworn in the first chief minister of the state in 1965. Prior to that Jammu and Kashmir - having a special status in the Indian constitution - had its own prime minister and president called ‘Wazir-e-Azam’ and ‘Sadr-e-Riyasat’ respectively.

In May 1965, the Jammu and Kashmir constitution was amended and the denominations of prime minister and president were changed to chief minister and governor respectively.

Following is the list of former chief ministers of the state:

* In 1965, Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq took his oath as the first chief minister and returned to power in 1967 after the Congress swept the state elections.

* In 1972, Syed Mir Qasim became chief minister after the Congress won elections.

* In 1975, National Conference president Sheikh Abdullah was nominated chief minister with Congress backing after an accord with then prime minister Indira Gandhi. He returned to power after winning the state assembly elections in 1977.

* In 1982, Sheikh Abdullah passed away and his son, Farooq, was sworn in the next chief minister. Farooq retained chairn in the 1983 elections.

* In 1984, the National Conference split and Farooq’s brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammed Shah formed the government with the support of the Congress and continued till 1986 before the state was put under Governor’s rule.

* In 1987, the Congress-National Conference alliance formed the government under Farooq Abdullah. In 1990, the state came under President’s rule after armed insurgency erupted in the valley.

* In 1996, Farooq Abdullah returned to power after sweeping the state assembly elections.

* In 2002, the Congress-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alliance came to power with an agreement on rotating the chief ministership.

* From 2002 to 2005 Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of the PDP headed the government.

* And from 2005 to 2008 Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress was chief minister.